I've argued elsewhere that NYU is probably the best choice for int'l law, perhaps second to Yale. There are various reasons for this, but the big three are location, student groups, and course/clinic options. Of course, most people go into law school with only a vague idea of what they want to do; so you may still want to keep options open.

If you're serious about international law (i.e. you have some background in it and you know you want to do it), especially if you're serious about public international law (e.g. not int'l finance or arbitration), you'd be foolish not to apply ED to NYU and/or Columbia.

Not a waste of an ED at all--you're likely to be accepted to NYU as an ED. The only real strategic consideration is whether you'd want to lock yourself in if you might decide you'd prefer Berkeley or Chicago. What do you want to do with your law degree?

How many people in your class are over 35? Do they stick together or mingle with the younger folks?

I have no idea how many people in my class are over 35. My ballpark guess would be 10-20--not very many. A lot of students with families (a different but related category) obviously tend to do their own thing on non-school time. The social scene is by no means monolithic, so I think everybody pretty much finds a niche.

Since you mentioned that dorm housing was overpriced, can you give a little detail on what your housing situation was like? How difficult was it to find, what kind, how expensive?

I have an 700 sq. ft. studio apartment with one roommate for which my share is around $1300 w/ utilities. It's no luxury building, and there is no doorman or anything, but it's certainly more comfortable than the dorms which have small bedrooms and a tiny living room/kitchen. Plus, it means a lot not to be in the dorms during finals. There is a palpable neuroses in the dorms at that time.

Basically, if you can find a roommate, living off-campus is always a better value. You can even find places right in the NYU campus area for cheaper than the dorms. People that live in Brooklyn can get even better deals. I have a few friends living in nicer places than the dorms and paying 1/3 the price. The 20 min. commute on the train is well worth it.

Finding housing in NYC is a bit of a crapshoot. Most stories are like mine: I used a broker and looked at about 10 places before I got lucky and snatched one up that just came onto the market. The broker fee is harsh (usually one month's rent), but worth it if you don't have somewhere to stay until you find a place.

The one genuine advantage of the dorms is the furniture. Buying (cheap) furniture in the city is a royal pain in the ass, assuming you don't have a car.

I chose NYU primarily based on the strength of its public interest program. Overall, that turned out to be a good choice, but partly for reasons I didn't expect. For example, I didn't really consider that the school's location in Manhattan is pretty key--it gives us access to all the top legal NGOs for term-time internships. I knew the clinical offerings would be fantastic, and they have been, if a little overcrowded. And I knew the loan repayment program was among the best two or three in the country and it has gotten even better since I started. What really caught be by surprise was the strength of the student groups at the school; the NYU student groups regularly do more substantial legal work than the actual clinics at other schools.

My secondary reason was an interest in international law. For many of the same reasons as above, it has turned out to be a good choice. Just as a matter of location, no other top school except Columbia allows you to do term-time work at UN Headquarters (and I saw many more NYU folks there than Columbia ones, for whatever reason). The Brennan Center and Center for Human Rights and Global Justice are both run out of NYU facilities and do top-notch work on int'l human rights. There are a half-dozen other nice international law features (like more int'l LLMs than any other school).

If you were choosing again today, would you choose it for the same reasons?

Yes. In retrospect, my decision to attend was even more of a no-brainer than it seemed at the time. I was cautious in deciding because it seemed arrogant to assume that I wouldn't be pulled off the public interest track (since most students are). But the temptation to do corporate law has turned out to be far weaker than I imagined, and like I said, for PI work I think NYU is pretty ideal. If I had decided I wanted to do corporate law, I would probably regret not taking more money from UVA or Chicago, since everyone gets basically the same jobs in the end.

Did you find the noise and bustle of the Village a distraction to your studies?

I don't find the Village to be a distraction at all. But we're all distracted by different things. For me, having nearby wilderness would have been a much greater distraction since I'd be constantly tempted to go camping, etc. Its much less time-consuming to have a few drinks or go to a club.

However, I live on the very eastern edge of the Village, so its a little quieter in my neck of the woods. I don't know what its like for people in the dorms (which are totally overpriced and not worth it).

In my experience (top 10% at NYU), they're not that useful. The broad strokes are all contained in the relevant E&E and the details will vary depending on your particular class. The only real use for them is in using them as the basis for your eventual outline, but a student outline serves that purpose much better.

If you are determined to use a commercial outline, you must get one that matches the textbook you're using. If there is both a Gilbert's and an Emanuel's matching, you need to decide on a class-by-class basis--some of the Gilbert's are better than some of the Emanuel's.

That said, don't use a commercial outline. Use a student outline from a previous class. Read the E&E, Read Getting To Maybe, and go to class. Actually read the cases. You'll do much better that way.

Hard to say. I just completed my 2L year. Also, I'm on a public interest track. That said, I have zero doubt that I could get vault50 biglaw job in this economy. I don't know anyone who just graduated and didn't get a job he or she wanted.

2) Has the advantage of being at a t14 translated into actual advantages to me?

Absolutely. It has been a great asset in my summer job search, especially as someone looking to do law reform work (e.g. NAACP, ACLU). And looking forward, the availability of federal clerkships and post-graduate fellowships are also strongly tied to the school one attends.

That's not an argument for the necessity of a top school by any means. There is interesting PI work that doesn't require a clerkship, and top grads from other schools can get corporate law jobs. But the fact that attending a top school provides a significant tangible advantage is really not debatable.